USAID funding row: Trump's remark reaffirms PM Modi's foreign interference claim during LS polls, says BJP

Amit Malviya

In no mood to relent, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said that US President Donald Trump's latest remarks on the USAID funding to India was a "reaffirmation" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls campaign that foreign powers were trying to stop him from coming to power.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday hit out at the previous Joe Biden administration, accusing it of interfering in elections in India. BJP IT head Amit Malviya in a series of posts on X said Prime Minister Modi had warned of foreign influence, not once, but on multiple occasions during the 2024 election campaigns.

While addressing the FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami, Trump said,"Why do we need to spend $21 million on voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian Government... This is a total breakthrough." Trump's claim comes a day after he defended the Department of Governance Efficiency (DOGE) decision to cancel $21 million fund for “voter turnout” in India.

"Why are we giving USD 21 million to India? They have a lot more money. They are one of the highest taxing countries in the world in terms of us; we can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high. I have a lot of respect for India and their Prime Minister, but giving USD 21 million for voter turnout?" Trump said at Mar-a-Lago.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has aligned himself with global networks seeking to undermine India's strategic and geopolitical interests while "acting as a tool for foreign agencies", alleged BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya, targeting the grand old party following the US president's remarks.

Targeting the Congress, Malviya alleged that ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi was in London in March 2023, "urging foreign powers", from the US to Europe, to intervene in India's internal affairs. "He has aligned himself with global networks seeking to undermine India's strategic and geopolitical interests acting as a tool for foreign agencies," the BJP leader charged.